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For logistical reasons, I measured a different sample of the Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Progression M550 monoblock (serial number PM006P) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). I repeated some of the measurements with the magazine's Audio Precision APx500 analyzer. Usefully, the box included a set of tests performed with the APx500.

Before I performed the testing, I preconditioned the amplifier by running it at one-eighth its specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes, as recommended by the Consumer…

It's a true cliché—that is, a cliché that happens to be true: Rock music, in almost all its forms, is young people's music. It's about new, fresh experiences—new love, new sex, consciousness sought or attained, rebellion, drugs—and when you've reached a certain age, those experiences don't feel so fresh anymore. That's a fact about which it's hard not to feel some regret. You don't have to share their sentiment to realize that there's a reason Pete wrote, and Roger sang, "Hope I die before I get old."

Despite…

That'…

When the Wilson Audio Specialties XVXes were installed here almost a year ago, Christy Moore's "So Do I" from the album This Is the Day provided a benchmark for placement. Moore's voice could sound hooded or…

Description: Four-way, sealed-box loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) Accuton inverted diamond dome tweeter, 8" (203mm) CELL aluminum sandwich midwoofer, 7" (178mm) CELL ceramic membrane midrange, 2 11" (279.5mm) woofers. Crossover frequencies: N/A. Frequency range: 25Hz–60kHz. Impedance: 3 ohms (minimum 2 ohms at 42Hz and 110Hz). Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Recommended minimum amplifier power: 20 watts.
Dimensions: 66" (1676mm) H × 24" (610mm) W × 27" (686mm) D. Weight: 330lb (150kg) each.
Finishes: White or Black Pearl Gloss, Black Matte, Dark Silver…

Analog sources: OMA K3, SAT XD-1 turntables; SAT CF1-09, CF1Ti-09, Schrìder OMA, Kuzma 4Point tonearms; HiFiction X-quisite ST, Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Ortofon MC Century, Anna Diamond, A95, A90, Grado Epoch3, Miyajima Labs Infinity (mono), Grado Epoch (mono) cartridges.
Digital sources: dCS Vivaldi One SACD player DAC; Lynx Hilo A/D-D/A converter; Roon Nucleus server; Pure Vinyl and Vinyl Studio software.
Preamplification: darTZeel NHB-18S, Ypsilon MC-10L, MC-16L, and MC-20L and X-quisite SUT X-20 step-up transformers; Ypsilon VPS-100 phono stage,…

As with the Wilson Chronosonic XVX that Michael Fremer reviewed in the May 2021 issue, it wasn't possible for us to maneuver one of the large, heavy Estelon Forza loudspeakers onto a dolly and wheel it into his driveway for the measurements. I therefore had to perform the measurements with the loudspeakers set up in Michael's room. The proximity of the room's boundaries meant that I performed my farfield frequency response measurements at 1m rather than my usual 50"; the goal is to push the reflections from those boundaries as far back in time as possible. The…

It's a reasonable question coming at the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel tail-end (fingers crossed) of a worldwide pandemic.

I'm about to find out because I'm at the 2021 Toronto Audiofest, held at the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel from October 22–24.

I don't know what to expect except that I already know it's going to be smaller than the prepandemic Toronto show I attended in 2019. Will it be different in other ways? Will it be awkward? Will people stay close to the walls to avoid close contact? Refuse to shake hands with old…

“Hello Toronto Audiofest! It’s good to be back!”

That was my first thought when I entered the Westin Toronto Airport Hotel, the same venue used for the previous, and first ever, Toronto Audiofest in 2019. It was also the thought I had inside the first exhibit room I visited, sponsored by importer Wynn Audio and helmed by the amiable Wynn Wong.

A minute into listening to a CD through the Metronome AQWO SACD/CD Player ($26,000)—by Junko Kimura’s jazz trio, with its fat tones, flailing limbs, and gusts of air—I just knew…